HB1437: HB1437 Notaries public; notarial acts to be performed using electronic means when certain requirements are satisfied; provide

Georgia law currently governs notaries public mainly around paper documents, ink signatures, and physical seals. This bill amends Georgia's notary law (O.C.G.A. Title 45, Chapter 17) to formally recognize electronic notarizations. It adds definitions for terms like electronic notarial certificate, electronic seal of office, and electronic signature. The bill also updates the rules for a notary's seal of office, allowing an electronic seal in an appropriate file format that includes the notary's name, commission number, and expiration date, instead of only a physical impression or stamp. It revises how notaries document a notarial act, allowing them to either sign a paper certificate by hand in ink or affix an electronic signature to an electronic notarial certificate, in both cases recording the exact date. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it or it becomes law without his signature.

• Adds new legal definitions for 'electronic notarial certificate,' 'electronic seal of office,' and 'electronic signature' to Georgia's notary law.
• Allows a notary's official seal to be an electronic file containing the notary's name, commission number, expiration date, and required wording, instead of only a physical stamp or impression.
• Revises the rules for how a notarial act must be documented, letting notaries choose between a handwritten ink signature on paper or an electronic signature on an electronic certificate.
• Keeps the existing exception that pre-1986 real estate documents remain valid for recording even if they lack a compliant notary seal or date.
• Sets the effective date as the day the Governor signs the bill or the day it becomes law without his signature.

Georgia notaries public, who would gain the option to notarize documents electronically; anyone who relies on notarized documents, such as people signing real estate deeds, legal papers, or affidavits; and clerks of superior court, who maintain real property records affected by notarization rules.

Georgians who need documents notarized, such as deeds, affidavits, or contracts, could have them notarized electronically rather than only in person on paper. Notaries would be able to use electronic seals and signatures, which could make remote or online notarization more workable in everyday transactions.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 45-17-1 to add definitions for electronic notarial certificate, electronic seal of office, and electronic signature alongside existing terms like notarial act and attestation.
• Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 45-17-6(a) so a notary's seal of office can be an electronic seal containing the notary's name, commission number, expiration date, and the words 'Notary Public, Georgia, Electronic Seal.'
• Section 2 also keeps rules for notaries commissioned on or before July 1, 1985, and preserves the exception protecting pre-1986 real estate documents from being invalidated over seal noncompliance.
• Section 3 revises O.C.G.A. § 45-17-8.1 to let a notary either sign a paper certificate by hand in ink or affix an electronic signature to an electronic notarial certificate, recording the exact date either way.
• Section 4 sets the effective date as the date the Governor approves the Act or the date it becomes law without his approval.
• Section 5 repeals any existing laws that conflict with the new provisions.

1. 2026-03-04House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
2. 2026-02-26House Second Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-25House First Readers (House)
4. 2026-02-24House Hopper (House)

• Houston Gaines (R, HD-120)Primary sponsor
• Rob Leverett (R, HD-123)
• Chuck Efstration (R, HD-104)
• Deborah Silcox (R, HD-053)
• Matt Reeves (R, HD-099)
• Todd Jones (R, HD-025)

• notaries public
• electronic signatures
• real estate documents
• Georgia notary law